Mexico games give Astros chance to market brand

MEXICO CITY — More than three decades before becoming a major league baseball general manager, Mexico City native Jeff Luhnow would take advantage of his family’s summer trips to San Antonio, where his parents had an apartment, and pilgrimages to Houston’s Astrodome. He doesn’t just understand Mexico’s love of baseball, he represents it.

Luhnow, the son of American parents who worked in Mexico City, attended his first MLB games at the Astrodome in the late 1970s. The Astros’ general manager, who would spend part of his summer at camps in the Hill Country, returned to the Mexican capital Friday along with some of the brightest young stars in the American League for a two-game exhibition series against the San Diego Padres.

MLB hopes to extend its reach in Mexico during the two-game Mexico City Series on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. And the Astros are eager to help while also extending their brand’s reach during the trip.

“We know when we look geographically where we are we can go to Louisiana, Arkansas and North Texas and out to the west,” Astros president Reid Ryan said. “But if we want to continue to grow our brand we also have to go south of the border.”

MLB opened its first business office in Mexico City this weekend, moving south of the border to add its sixth international office outside of the U.S. The Mexico City office is only MLB’s second in Latin America, following the one in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

MLB also has offices in Tokyo, Beijing, London and Sydney. The Mexico City series at Fray Nano Stadium marks MLB’s first spring training games here since Roger Clemens led the Astros against the Marlins in 2004 at Foro Sol Stadium.

This time around, three-time All-Star Jose Altuve and 2015 American League Rookie of the Year Carlos Correa highlight manager A.J. Hinch’s traveling party. The Astros also brought a pair of their minor leaguers from Mexico: outfielder Leo Heras, 24, of Tijuana, and righthanded pitcher Jose Luis Hernandez, 20, of Mazatlan.

After winning the AL wild card last year to reach the postseason for the first time since 2005, the Astros are a trendy pick to win the World Series. They are clearly the headliners of the Mexico City series. Altuve and Correa were the prominent photos on the two pages the Reforma Newspaper devoted to the series and the Zocalo’s baseball festival in Friday’s edition.

“I think it’s important because it will increase the awareness of the Astros. … Knowing that there are so many people in Texas of Mexican descent, this trip will also improve the awareness not only in Mexico but among people of Mexican descent.”